Cameron's First Skate Contest

Cam's skate contest ... it was his first "real" skate competition. And he did AWESOME. Have to give some details to lead into the contest a bit ... The competition on was open to all groups - including non-members of the skateboard school. All participants in the Intermediate and under all received a prize for competing. The Advanced and Expert competitions were actually judged and placed accordingly. Cameron decided that even though he was not in the Advanced group for his lessons each week, that he wanted to compete in the bowl competition. He wanted to see where he stood with everyone else. So the week before the contest - yes, in one week - he learned 4 or so new tricks to use in the contest. Friday night at his lesson and again for about 20 minutes or so on Saturday before the contest, he worked on his routine (run). So the tricks that he used in this contest, he essentially learned in one week. The other competitors have been in the Advanced group all year. Saturday morning we talk to the Skate manager and let him know that Cameron wanted to compete in the Advanced competition. Jeff was wary, and thought that it might be too much for him, that these guys knew a few more tricks than him. It had been quite a while since he had seen Cameron skate, so Bryan filled him in on what he had accomplished this week, and the tricks that he was pulling off. Jeff was surprised/impressed/etc., and absolutely agreed that Cameron should compete. So, he and his friend that is in the Advanced group were the youngest by far - the other kids he was competing against had at least 4 years on them. He was nervous up until Saturday, and in fact, did not want anyone coming and watching him. It was his first contest and he wasn't sure how it would go. So for those of you who wanted to attend, I apologize for that! However, he did later say that he really enjoyed the crowd cheering him on, and welcomes anyone to his next contest!

This particular area of the contest that he was competing in was the bowl. It was a half hour total, each skater took turns. When they fell, they got back in line and the next kid would go. Cameron had about 3 or 4 runs and did great. He had a great attitude (an area we have been working on a lot lately!) and was really focused on what he was doing. Without elaborating on all the tricks he pulled, (mostly because I'm not sure what they're all called ...) I will tell you that he placed 5th! He did so great and Bryan and I could not have been more proud. There were 9 total competing, and when they called out 9th place, and then 8th, up to 5th, he just had this huge grin on his face knowing he beat out these other kids - kids that had much more time and experience on him. He was a tad disappointed, thought for sure he would have placed fourth based on the competition, as did we, but still excited for him. The skate manager, the other coaches, and even the facility owner's wife came up to us and said they could not believe how well he did, and they had no idea he had worked so hard to land those tricks. :) At his first practice after the competition, the skate manager came up to Cameron, congratulated him on Saturday's run and said he was so impressed. He also told Cam that if he would have landed the 360 (the final fall in each of the video clips below) and handplant that he had tried (I didn't get this one on tape) in the competition, he would have definitely placed first! Like I said, we were incredibly proud! Hopefully you can see the video clips below ... it was tough to get a good spot to be able to tape the entire routine, mostly because of the logistics of the skatepark.

Cameron standing next to the cameraman!

Lined up with some of the other contestants (Cam is the 3rd one from the left)

Okay - you might want to turn your volume down just a tad, the sound is HORRIBLE! (Although you can hear a little bit of the announcer and how excited he was when Cameron landed some of his tricks.) I was standing next to the loudspeaker for the music, and combined with the people and the announcer, well it didn't turn out pretty. :(

Barrack Obama - President Elect

Well folks, we have a new president elect. Whether you voted for him or not, Obama won over this country unquestionably. People of all nationalities, religions, races and backgrounds collectively voted for him. His promise of change and straightforward attitude contributed to this greatly. I’m not sure that I have ever felt such overwhelming emotion during an election as I did watching him and McCain on Tuesday night. Perhaps it is because this election was a roller coaster considering the significance of some of the issues and especially the state of the economy. McCain graciously conceded, and Obama graciously accepted his concession. Both speeches were exceptional and powerful at the same time.

I’m sure everyone succumbed to the political chaos at one point or another in the last few weeks: mailings, commercials, phone calls (We had calls from Cindy McCain, two from John McCain, Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani on Election Day. Wondering if this was because we were in Arizona? Anyone else?) At any rate, I will proudly admit that I voted for Obama. I have endured conversations from people claiming to be a Republican so they have to vote McCain. Who says? How naïve some of these “adults” were to not realize that they can vote for whomever they choose, regardless of the political party they are registered with. I am not a registered democrat. However, I vote for who I believe in. This election was no different. I started paying a lot closer attention, going down the list of issues to see who stood for the same things I did, and making a mental note of the tally. Recently, though, (a lot more than during the campaigning) I have been reading articles, other blogs, editorials, and commentaries that frustrate me. The reactions from many since Obama was elected are unbelievable. I’m not going to debate politics. I just think some people needed to better educate themselves instead of just jumping on the bandwagon. I will admit that I do not agree with all that Obama stands for, although I do agree with the majority of it. Many have questioned his faith, calling him an anti-Christ, etc. To me, it is obvious Obama is a loving husband and father, he and his family attend church (not saying this is necessary to have faith by any means…) but he refers to his faith often. Nonetheless, some people feel they are in a position to judge that. A large number of these “complaints” are from Christians who believe his faith is not the “right” one, and that we (our country) will be ruined.

I’m going to take a side trip here, so stay with me, I’m on a roll. Four months ago when we found Cameron’s new school (a Charter school), and went to dis-enroll him from his current school (a Christian school) the principal surprised us, and really, offended us with a comment she made. “Oh, well you know, there are a lot of LDS (Mormans) enrolled in that school.” Bryan asked, “What does that have to do with anything?” She was quick to add, “Well I just think it might be harder for Cam to make friends because of all their cliques.” God bless my husband. He said to her, “We didn’t raise our son to choose who he is friends with or distinguish between groups of people based on their religious beliefs, color of skin, or background. I don’t care if they are LDS, Catholic, Hispanic, black or purple. It makes no difference.” I followed up by letting her know that “If there was one thing that Cameron has learned in the almost 4 years at this school, her school, that if there was anything that the teachers taught the students, it was that as a Christian, you love and respect everyone.”

To say the least, we were extremely surprised. My first thought was, “What makes her think her or her religion is any better than someone else?” I’m surprised at how some people consider themselves such strong Christians or believers, but yet so judgmental of others. It seems contradictory.

So back to Obama, I think that the comments I’ve heard about Obama from some of these people are similar in that they are fearful in Obama, that he is not strong enough, with his flaws, to govern our nation. We all have flaws. We all hold beliefs that do not align perfectly with God’s ways because none of us are perfect. I’m pretty certain that I have never heard Obama mention in any of his speeches that he is perfect. So I suppose my final thought is this: We need to understand that Obama IS going to be our next president, we need to support him in these difficult and challenging times (I for one wouldn’t want his job).

McCain couldn’t have said it better in his concession speech: “I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.”

When you have an "I Hate My Job" day ...

Try this: On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section and purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson. Be very sure you get this brand.

When you get home, lock your doors, draw the curtains and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed. Change into very comfortable clothing and sit in your favorite chair. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Now, carefully place it on a table or a surface so that it will not become chipped or broken. Now the fun part begins.

Take out the literature from the box and read it carefully. You will notice that in small print there is a statement:


'Every Rectal Thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson is personally tested and then sanitized.'

Now, close your eyes and repeat aloud five times, 'I am so glad I do not work in the thermometer quality control department at Johnson & Johnson.'

Have a nice day! And remember,

there is always someone else with a job

that is more of a pain in the @ss than yours is!

Don't forget to ...

Halloween Pics

For once, we seemed to be able to enjoy the birthday/Halloween festivities on the 31st without having to worry about getting everything done within a certain time due to work and school the next day. What a difference! The kids that were here had a great time trick-or-treating, and the adults had an even better time helping to celebrate Bryan's birthday. It was the first time since we've been together that Bryan and I dressed up for Halloween! His idea, believe it or not. He comes home a couple of weeks ago and says "I'm going to be Hulk Hogan for Halloween. You should be Linda." Well okay - you get to wear the puffy muscles, and I have to look like an overly bronzed and platinum blonde floozy. Perfect! At any rate - the rest of the "adults" here were also dressed up and we had so much fun! Once again, Daddy went overboard on Cam's face for the full effect. While the majority of the mask was rubber, he cut out the bottom part of it so he could build out Cam's chin. Then added the fleshy, burned look to his ears and neck. Wouldn't be a true Freddy Krueger without it! Ironic that he's never seen a Nightmare on Elm Street movie with Freddy Krueger in it, but that's okay by me. He thought the costume was scary and wanted to be that one. So ... here are the pics!

Freddy Krueger!!


Hulk and Linda Hogan! :)





Freddy Krueger and Shaggy!


Coupla Rednecks!